Journey Together

Star Review

Written, produced, directed, photographed and acted by members of the Royal Air Force – including Richard Attenborough and Jack Watling, who take the lead roles – this is a film “dedicated to the Few who trained the Many”; the members of Flying Training Command.

The journey of the title is that taken by two recruits through their air crew training. Attenborough plays the eager, fresh-faced Dave Wilton, while Watling is the insouciant Johnny Aynesworth. One of them is cut out to be a natural pilot, and with his landings inevitably ending with the plane bouncing down the runway, Dave comes to accept that it isn’t him. Instead, he reluctantly retrains as a navigator and tries to come to terms with his dashed dreams.

A superior wartime training drama, the film also stars Edward G. Robinson as a kindly American instructor, and a young George Cole as the bomb aimer of the Lancaster crew that heads to Berlin on a nerve-testing mission that finally forces Dave to realise the full responsibility of his role.

Graeme Hobbs on 13th June 2007

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Film Description

Produced by the RAF Film Unit in 1943 as a public information film, Journey Together pays tribute to 'The Few who served the Many', those in Flying Training Command. The journey of the title is that taken by two prospective pilots, eager, fresh-faced Dave (Richard Attenborough) and insouciant Johnny Aynesworth (Jack Watling). When Dave realises that he is not going to make it through pilot training, he has to swallow his pride and retrain as a navigator. When he finally gets to go on a bombing mission, his skills are tested to the utmost.

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DVD Extras

• Extracts from 'The Gen', numbers 6 & 18, featuring on-set and premiere footage.

Film Details

Cast

David Tomlinson, Edward G. Robinson, Richard Attenborough, Jack Watling

Technical Details